Gender-neutral awards categories: Why we need them

Platform writer Izzy Bunting makes the case for more inclusive accolades…

Recently the BRIT awards have begun to consider creating gender-neutral categories within their event, following the lead of MTV who recently awarded Emma Watson the first gender-neutral acting award in the industry.

This is after Sam Smith came out as non-binary in an interview with Jameela Jamil as part of her social movement ‘I Weigh’ which celebrates the aspects of a person other than their weight. As a result, controversy has been sparked in the media including the usual suspects, such as Piers Morgan, who disagree with the idea of gender-neutral award categories.

In the interview with Jamil, Smith said: “You are just you. You are a mixture of all different things. You’re your own special creation. That’s how I take it… I’m not male or female, I think I float somewhere in between. It’s all on a spectrum. I think the same with sexuality.”

I think that Smith speaking out about their gender and sexuality is incredibly important as with the platform they have in the media, they have a huge amount of influence on the younger generations. It’s important to show that there are genders beyond the binary.

The issue with most awards at the moment is their confining categories, such as “best male actor” or “best female artist” which excludes those who don’t identify as a binary gender. This means that they may not receive the recognition that they deserve due to their gender or they may be shoehorned into a category that they don’t belong in, therefore misgendering them.

The gender-neutral categories are an important step forward in representing the population as a whole and not excluding those who may not conform to the binary. I hope to see more of these categories in the future so all people in every industry can be recognised for their skills and hard work!

By Izzy Bunting

Feature image credit: BBC